The organizers of the Japan Golf Tour received a letter from the PGA Tour which said that any members who participated in LIV events in the 2022-2023 season would be barred from joining any PGA Tour-run tournaments, such as the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament and the Zozo Championship.
This letter could be the reason that Yuki Inamori, Ryosuke Kinoshita, Jinichiro Kozuma and Hideto Tanihara, who participated in the LIV Golf Invitational Series, are not attending this week’s PGA-run Boston event. These four players did not have a PGA Tour membership, mostly competing in the Japan Golf Tour and the Asia Tour. The restrictions were retroactive and applied to any player who participated in any LIV event, even ones that took place outside of the PGA Tour season.
“… those JGTO players, and any players who may be members of other tours, that participated in unauthorized events… during the 2021-2022 PGA TOUR season remain ineligible for all events across all PGA TOUR-sanctioned tours…,” wrote the PGA in its letter to the JGTO, as per Sports Illustrated.
The PGA Tour had no comment regarding the situation, except to clarify that the restrictions would be applied to members beyond the Japan Golf Tour and for events other than the Zozo Championship.
Three of the four Japanese players, Inamori, Kinoshita and Kozuma, attended the Zozo Championship last year. The tournament is officially on the PGA Tour schedule and is co-sanctioned by the Japan Golf Tour, which designates 10 players to compete in the event.
Last year’s Zozo Championship was won by Hideki Matsuyama who also won the Sony Open. Matsuyama’s plans regarding LIV Golf were the subject of speculation but the player clarified that he would not be joining the LIV tour. His decision could be influenced by the PGA Tour’s stance on participation in LIV Events which was discussed between the organizations on August 22.
“If a JGTO member does not participate in any further unauthorized events during the 2022-2023 PGA Tour season, they would be eligible to participate in the 2023 Sony Open and the 2023 Zozo Championship,” wrote the PGA.
“However, if they participate in any further unauthorized events, they will not be eligible for any events sanctioned by PGA TOUR through the end of 2023 including the 2023 Zozo Championship.”
LIV’s statement regarding the letter
LIV Golf responded to the letter by issuing a statement. The statement expressed disappointment at the PGA Tour’s actions, claiming that they were “anti-competitive.”
“We would have loved to have had these players join LIV, but we respect their decision given the unfortunate, anti-competitive threats imposed on them by the PGA Tour. The lengths the Tour is going to to stop players from joining LIV is quite amazing,” said LIV Golf in a statement.
3 Japan players pulled out of this weeks Asian Tour event cause they were told if they played they could not play the @PGATOUR @zozochamp. This is bullying at its finest. Not cool.
— Berry Henson (@BerryHenson) August 8, 2022
LIV Golf joined an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour last week which claimed that the PGA Tour has used monopoly powers to suppress its competition and unfairly sanction players. The PGA Tour itself is under investigation by the United States Department of Justice for potentially anti-competitive behavior.